Butterfly mops are known cleaning devices which include a handle having mounted at one end a sponge member which is adapted to be folded approximately in half and squeezed to remove water contained in the pores of the sponge. Typical mops are illustrated in the following patents:
______________________________________ Inventor Patent No. ______________________________________ J. Palama, Jr. et al. 2,685,098 P. S. Vosbikian et al. 2,725,585 H. Gantz 2,730,741 W. H. Richards et al. 2,757,398 F. Zottola 2,730,743 F. Zottola 2,858,557 P. S. Vosbikian et al. 2,883,689 A. E. Clements 2,896,235 F. B. Zottola 2,916,754 W. H. Richards 2,967,317 P. A. Morgan 3,050,761 W. H. Richards 3,147,502 K. Morrison et al. 4,831,677 D. A. Jones 4,864,675 U. K. Patent 793,981 ______________________________________
Prior art butterfly mops are characterized by complicated mechanical structures to compress the sponge member. Such complex mechanical structures are bulky, costly to manufacture and impossible to use in narrow recesses. As a general rule, butterfly mops are only designed to compress the sponge member and do not fold the sponge member outwardly upon itself to expose substantially all of the underside of the sponge member when so folded. This has not been recognized as a desirable attribute of butterfly mops until the present invention.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a butterfly mop which has a simplified mechanism for compressing the sponge member that also allows the sponge member to be folded outwardly upon itself to expose the underside of the sponge member. This provides a compact structure that fits into a narrow recess or around a tight corner normally inaccessible to conventional mops and that has a cleaning surface available for wiping the surfaces of the recess.
The device of this invention has several features, no single one of which is solely responsible for its desirable attributes. Without limiting the scope of this invention as expressed by the claims which follow, its more prominent features will now be discussed briefly. The features of the present invention provide a butterfly mop having numerous advantages over the prior art, which include compactness, simplicity of construction, and convenience and versatility of use.
A first feature is that the mop has a sponge holder comprising a pair of wing members having spring-biased hinges which enable the wing members to rotate either 90.degree. toward the handle or 90.degree. away from the handle. The spring-biased hinges normally position the wing members in line with one another at a right angle with respect to the handle. This normal position is used for most cleaning applications.
A second feature is a U-shaped member which moves toward and away from the wing members between a normal position, a forward (downward) position and a retracted (upward) position. In the normal position, the U-shaped member engages the wing members to maintain them at a right angle with respect to the handle. In the forward position, the U-shaped member engages the wing members to force these members to pivot inwardly about the hinges to compress the sponge member. In the retracted position, the U-shaped member disengages from contact with the wing members to permit these members to pivot outwardly so that the underside of the sponge member is exposed when the wing members are folded outwardly towards each other.
A third feature is a positioning, assembly, including a sleeve through which the handle passes. The sleeve has an internal track with opposed ends and a bend or jog between the opposed ends. The sleeve is mounted to rotate relative to the handle. The handle has a button which rides along the internal track. The button is located at the bend when the U-shaped member is in the normal position. The sleeve is rotated in one direction and moved toward the wing members to dislodge the button from the bend and allow the button to ride in the track as the U-shaped member is moved to the forward (down) compressed position. The sleeve is rotated in the opposite direction and moved in a rearward direction away from the sponge holder to dislodge the button from the bend and allow it to ride further rearward in the track as the U-shaped member is moved into the retracted (upward) position.
A fourth feature is that the wing members with a sponge member mounted thereon upon being folded can be compressed to a combined thickness of less than two inches. This enables the mop of the present invention to access narrow recesses and passageways. Thus, with the mop so folded and the underside of the sponge completely exposed in the retracted position, the user can insert the sponge member into a recess or around a tight corner and wipe the recess or corner surface with the underside of the folded sponge.
In accordance with an alternative embodiment, a pair of retraction members are attached at one end to each wing member by a hinge and at the other end to the U-shaped member. As the sleeve is moved to allow the U-shaped member to move to the retracted position, the retraction members force the wing members into the retracted position, with the underside of the sponge completely exposed.
These as well as other features of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description which follows, considered together with the appended drawings.